hypotheticaltornadoesfandomcom-20200214-history
May 3-4, 2019 Great Lakes tornado outbreak
The May 3-4, 2019 Great Lakes tornado outbreak was a catastrophic tornado outbreak that occurred in the states of Michigan, Indiana, Ontario, and Ohio. The tornado produced the northernmost EF5 tornado on record in Indiana's history. The northernmost EF4 tornado in Ohio was also recorded. Synopsis On April 30, the SPC (Storm Prediction Center) issued a slight risk in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio. Environment Canada did the same and put out a moderate risk for tornadoes in southwestern Ontario. This was raised over the following days, and on May 2, a high risk was issued for Northern and Central Indiana, extending into western Ohio. The system that produced the tornadoes moved onto the Californian coast on April 30. The low-pressure system had a peak pressure of 966 millibars while it was over the Rocky Mountains on May 1. The system was responsible for blizzard conditions in Colorado and Wyoming, and a record of 53.6" of snow for May was recorded near Boulder, Colorado. The system transitioned into a severe weather system as it was over Illinois, however, there were no tornado touchdowns there. The system moved into Michigan and produced eight tornadoes, including an EF2 tornado that struck Hastings, the strongest since 2012. The system also produced a tornado in the Dearborn and Detroit areas, where many abandoned buildings were destroyed, only receiving an EF0 rating because the buildings were already caving in. The system then moved into Indiana and Ontario, where in Ontario, an EF3 tornado touched down near Petrolia, injuring four people. The first tornado touched down in Indiana late in the day on May 3, and the tornado was rated EF4. The tornado was the strongest in the state since the Henryville tornado on March 2, 2012. A few more tornadoes touched down, including an EF3 tornado that touched down in South Bend. The tornado damaged much of Notre Dame University, and one person was killed there. Another devastating tornado struck Carmel, damaging 150 homes and businesses, injuring 60 people. Another strong tornado struck the Tipton area, injuring 30 people and caught many people off guard as it happened very late at night. Another tornado, rated EF2, damaged a good portion of the town of Fairmount. Then, an EF4 tornado struck Muncie, killing two people and injuring numerous people. The strongest tornado of the outbreak happened shortly after, rated EF5, and killed 65 people in the cities of Peru and Wabash, Indiana. The final two tornadoes of the night occurred in Blackford County, striking the towns of Hartford City and Montpelier. On May 4, the day started out with a few tornadoes in Indiana, which soon became many. Three EF4 tornadoes touched down, the most in a single day since June 2, 1990, when more than five touched down or tracked through the state. An EF4 tornado struck Toledo, killing 20 people, and was the northernmost violent tornado in Ohio on record, beating the previous record of the Albion, Pennsylvania tornado in 1985, which originally touched down in Ohio. Another tornado, an EF3 tornado, touched down near Washington Court House, killing one person. An EF4 tornado touched down in Lima, killing three people. The system produced the final violent tornado of the outbreak in the cities of Bedford and Seymour, Indiana, killing one person. The system stopped producing tornadoes late on May 4, and moved into New England, with gusts up to 85-90 mph reported in New York, Massachusetts, and Maine. A peak non-tornadic wind gust of 91 mph was recorded near Worcester, Massachusetts. Hail was also reported in those areas, but no tornadoes were produced. On May 6, the system moved up the coast of Atlantic Canada, producing a snow/rain mix in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and parts of Quebec, and New Brunswick. Icy conditions on roads led to several fatal accidents in Montreal and Hailfax. Strong winds off of the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador sank a cargo ship, but no fatalities were reported with that incident. A pileup occurred in Ottawa, killing eight people and injuring at least 50. Notable tornadoes Peru/Wabash, Indiana At about 2317 UTC on May 3, a violent rain-wrapped tornado touched down two miles northwest of Walton, Indiana. The tornado began to move east-northeast, barreling straight towards Peru. The tornado reportedly leveled a farm and toppled over windmills near the community of Nead. The tornado was captured on camera as it neared the city of Peru. It was nearly two miles wide, which is very uncommon for tornadoes in the region of the Great Lakes. The tornado flattened homes just before entering the city limits of Peru. The tornado entered Peru at 2332 UTC, sweeping homes off of their foundations, and at least 28 peopled died in Peru, most of them were caught by surprise when the tornado destroyed their homes. One of the victims was a national story, where a nine-year-old girl and her thirty-three-year-old father tried to keep the brick wall of their home off of the girl's pregnant mother. After being hit by too much debris, both the girl and father died, just so that the girl's mother could live. The tornado produced its first visible EF5 damage in Peru when a mansion was obliterated, and the only remains left were the concrete blocks of the foundation. The tornado also completely destroyed other homes in the area. A total of 400 homes and businesses were destroyed in the city of Peru. The tornado exited Peru at 2339 UTC, and soon was seen barreling towards Wabash on radar. The tornado formed a very well-defined hook echo. A group of storm chasers were located along State Road 115, and recorded winds of 280 mph, one of the highest from a tornado on record. The tornado soon entered Wabash at 2354 UTC. The tornado killed a total of 34 people in Wabash, mainly from the unknown strength of the storm. Since most tornadoes are weak in Northern Indiana, (with an exception of the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak), many were killed from the fierce destruction. The storm began to weaken while in Wabash, and began to produce EF3-EF4 damage, which is still uncommon for Northern Indiana. The tornado swept away, flattened, or leveled over 450 buildings in Wabash, about 50% of the town. The tornado finally weakened and lifted north of Andrew at 0001 UTC May 4. Overall, the tornado caused $500 million in damages and killed 65 people, the second-highest death toll form a single tornado in Indiana, only falling short to the Tri-State Tornado in 1925. Toledo, Ohio In the early morning hours of May 4, a tornado touched down in the suburbs of Toledo. The tornado rapidly strengthened, destroying and leveling several homes in the suburbs. Just outside of downtown, the tornado killed four people at a factory when it was completely leveled and exploded. The explosion sent nuclear gases into a 50 mile radius, with the contamination zone ending at Fort Wayne, Indiana. The explosion also forced evacuations rather than cleanups the day after the tornado. The tornado claimed the most victims in downtown, when skyscrapers that were designed to withstand tornadoes, were heavily damaged to the point that the buildings could have possibly fell. The tornado killed 14 people in downtown, upping the death toll to 18 at the time. The tornado rapidly dissipated and lifted after affecting downtown, and in the process, the tornado claimed its final victim, upping the overall total to 20. The governor of Ohio declared a state of emergency in response to the devastating tornado. Bedford/Seymour/North Vernon, Indiana In the evening of May 4, just as severe weather was calming down, a violent tornado touched down west of Coxton. The tornado tracked to the east-northeast, tracking towards southern Bedford. The tornado hit Bedford around dinner time for most people, sending many people starving to the cold basement as the power went out. The tornado produced high-end EF3 damage, destroying well-built homes, only leaving inner walls standing. A movie theatre was destroyed during the tornado, nobody was injured inside of the building. An Arby's restaurant was destroyed off of Highway 37, only injuring one person. More than 5,000 people were without power in Bedford after the tornado. In nearby Mitchell, a checkbook was found in the middle of the street and was returned to its owner. A woman went missing after the tornado but was found unharmed with her child, who only sustained a minor bruise. The tornado moved out of Bedford and over rural land for at least 20 miles. A tornado emergency was issued in Bedford as the storm was approaching Seymour. The city of Seymour had been under a tornado watch for at least an hour-and-a-half. The tornado struck Seymour, killing one person, producing EF4 damage. The tornado was the strongest since June 2, 1990 in that area. The tornado destroyed at least 60 homes and businesses in Seymour, as it tracked directly through the heart of Seymour. The tornado injured as many as 60 people in Seymour alone, as Seymour also declared a tornado emergency. The tornado exited Seymour and dissipated as it hit North Vernon. Only EF1 damage was reported in North Vernon. Overall, the tornado was rated EF4 and killed one person. Another 80 people were injured. Tornadoes May 3 event May 4 event Category:Outbreaks Category:Violent Tornadoes Category:Violent Outbreaks Category:F5/EF5 Tornadoes Category:Catastrophic Tornadoes